Seduced by bacon: breakfast at #Heartland18

As I trudged from the Ramada Inn over the humid skywalk to the Sullivan Brothers Convention Center I swore, I could smell the bacon.

I was, after all, a weary traveller, in search of sustenance (and bacon) after a late check-in and a drive through the dark (very, very dark) Iowan countryside and some impressive rain to get HERE, the 2018 Heartland Conference.

We missed the hog roast, something we seem to manage every other trip.

However, once we get here, after all the sputtering and swearing and cursing (cussing, not actual, like, black magic hexes) we remember why we came.

We love the Heartland Conference. We can't put a collective finger (all three of us from HME News) on why, but we do.

And I think the other attendees do, too. We met a newbie provider from the Chicago area over breakfast (and bacon) who drove fours hours through torrential downpours for her first Heartland. She's so new to the industry she (gasp!) had no idea what HME News was. No offense to our friendly rival papers, but I quickly assured her we were THE HME industry publication, handed her a copy and told her where to sign up.

But, I think she, like the other attendees feel this show is as relevant as ever in these changing times.

This year's event kicked off with keynote speaker Jared Johnson who told the audience, “Thank you for showing up and making your community, company and the lives around you better.”

I attended sessions on telemedicine (and telehealth and telemonitoring) and CPAP resupply, broke bread at lunch with some other midwestern providers and hoisted a margarita with the folks from Contour Products at this evening's community dinner (I got lumped into the marketing group dinner at a Mexican place—a sign if there ever was one).

The offer of a ride to the airport stands.

Tomorrow (or today, if you reading this on Wednesday), it's a Washington update and a panel discussion with the SBA and CMS, serious stuff. And, I am not sure what else, but it will be good.

I also hope there's bacon.